Freed by You

by Danielle Fox

  “So, tell me all about Michael, I feel as if I haven’t spoken to you properly in ages.” At the mention of his name, Samantha’s stunning features lit up once more. It was obvious to me that she was very fond of him.

  “Well, with all that’s been going on I haven’t seen him again yet, but we had a lovely time at lunch and we’ve been talking. A lot.” Her eyes lowered to the table and her cheeks reddened as she appeared to remember something she wasn’t willing to share.

  She told me how much of gentleman he was at their lunch date. How he had pulled her chair out for her and tucked it back in again as she sat. How he had rushed forward to open each and every door for her.

  “We’ve spoken a lot on the phone and he’s lovely, Emily. He’s also got impeccable manners, which is often hard to find in a guy these days.”

  I found myself envying her slightly. Not in any malicious form, of course. It was early days but she had met someone who she liked her a lot and he, in return, definitely seemed to like her and he spoke to her with nothing but respect. Unlike someone I once knew.

  “So, tell me about Julian, what the hell went on with you two?”

  Great, how was I going to get out of this one? Discussing my feelings openly wasn’t something I had ever been comfortable with; it wasn’t something I was particularly good at. Besides, I had no way of describing them as I didn’t understand them myself.

  “There’s nothing much to tell really, we were getting on well then he just went all weird on me and the rest you know.” I winced under her glare. She wanted all the details and she knew that I knew that fact. “Okay, stop with the look!” I smiled. “I don’t know what to tell you, Sam. His mood swings were driving me insane so it was probably a good thing that it ended when it did.”

  “You say it ended. What ended?” She paused briefly before her mouth popped open and her eyes widened considerably. “Oh God, Emily. Please tell me you didn’t sleep with him.”

  “No, I didn’t sleep with him. What do you take me for?” I mocked, mirroring her shocked expression back at her.

  “Well, he was damn hot. I’m not sure I could’ve resisted him if I were in your shoes. But if nothing happened why were you so upset this morning?”

  “I wanted to. I mean, I’ve never looked at another man that way since Jay, I’ve never even thought about anything remotely sexual but it was different when I was with Julian. He’s kind of intense. I felt alive again. I wanted him.” I scratched at the table with my fingernail as I spoke, too embarrassed to look into Samantha’s scrutinising eyes.

  “Oh, honey,” she soothed, “what are you going to do?”

  “Nothing! I’m not chasing after anyone. But, I am going to the club and getting my job back.” I had made up my mind. I would have one more glass of wine to give me some much needed Dutch courage and I would go to the club and speak to Ryan about my next shift. I wasn’t going to back down, Julian couldn’t just fire me. And he couldn’t fire me for having personal involvement with management as we were no longer involved. He had already seen to that, so why should I be left heartbroken and penniless? I shouldn’t and I wasn’t going to be. Just one more glass of wine, a large one, and then I wasn’t going to be.

  I drank the next large glass in much lesser time than usual. Slamming my glass down, as if this was going to portray some authority, I looked sternly at Samantha. “Come on, were going to The Lounge,” I ordered as I swung my bag over my left shoulder.

  “What? Why? You really don’t want to see Julian tonight.”

  “I’m not going to see Julian, he won’t be there, he doesn’t even work there really.”

  “Emily, it’s Julian’s club.”

  “Yes, I’m not stupid, thank you, Sam. He doesn’t run it though, Ryan does. Hmm I could introduce you, he’s very handsome.” My mind wandered as I excited at the possibility of Samantha and Ryan hooking up, they’d make a very attractive couple. Samantha simply gawped at me as if I had finally lost my mind. “I’m going to get my job back, Sam. Now come on!” I stood swiftly, swaying ever so slightly, and linked her arm to pull her out of her seat.

  As we came up to the main entrance of the club, we were greeted by two burly bouncers – neither of whom I recognised. Shit, I wasn’t a member. How was I going to play this? Oh and I wasn’t exactly dressed for such exclusivity either in my skinny black trousers and peachy coloured blouse. My outfit would definitely be more appropriate in an office. At least I had my heels on.

  “Good evening, ladies. Can we help?”

  “We’ve just come for a quiet drink, sir, thank you.” I smiled as sweetly as possible. That’s it; play dumb and he might feel sorry for you and let you in.

  “Are you a member, Miss?”

  “Um, no,” I stammered as I felt my cheeks reddening.

  “Then I can’t let you in, I’m afraid.” He smiled sympathetically, or was he smirking at me, I couldn’t quite tell through the alcohol haze. I decided to change tactics.

  “I work here, sir. I wasn’t aware that staff had to be members to enjoy a drink on their night off.”

  “Oh, you work here, do you? I haven’t seen you here before, why would that be?” Now he was smirking at me!

  “I only started last week, that would probably be why. If you call Ryan he will verify my identity,” I snapped.

  The two men gave each other a lingering glance and one whispered something to the other before each gave a single nod to the other. “What’s your name, Miss?”

  “Emily Braxton.” Both men’s eyebrows raised and they shared another private thought through a sideways glance.

  “Well, why didn’t you say? Please come right in. I’m so sorry for the mix up, Miss Braxton. I’ll personally see to it that your drinks are on the house.”

  “That won’t be necessary, thank you.”

  One of the two men escorted us to the bar before speaking something into Gemma’s ear and turning and heading back out of the door.

  “What was that about?” Samantha shouted over the loud thudding of the music, leaning closer towards me.

  “I honestly have no idea.”

  “Well they certainly knew of your name,” she grinned, adding a cheeky wink.

  I was glad it wasn’t just me that had noticed the instant change in their manner when I announced my name. I supposed they knew of all the staff members’ names. Or, perhaps Julian had mentioned me. No, of course he hadn’t. Why would he?

  I was greeted at the bar by Gemma who was desperate to know when I would be back into work and, after her insistence of free drinks; we ordered only the finest of champagne cocktails. Champagne was probably not the wisest choice of drink in my already worsened state, but I’d worry about that in the morning.

  “I’m working on it,” I grinned and tilted my head slightly to one side as I winked. “Where’s Ryan?”

  “He’s about somewhere, I have no idea where though, Hun. I’ll keep an eye out.”

  “Great, thanks. See you in a while.”

  Feeling the effects of the substantial amount of wine I had consumed in such a short space of time, I grabbed Samantha’s hand and dragged her onto the dance floor. Something to kill the time while I waited for Ryan to surface, I told her. The dance floor wasn’t particularly busy, in fact there was only the two of us and another two couples dancing. I didn’t usually occupy such a large empty space, through fear of humiliation, but I didn’t care who could see me tonight. I hadn’t enjoyed myself in a very long time and tonight I was going to. I closed my eyes as we danced, feeling the beat of the music as I moved and turned. When I opened my eyes I stopped abruptly, sending Samantha hurling into my back.

  “What are you doing?” Samantha giggled behind me as she clutched my waist, desperately trying to make me move again.

  I had moved, blind, much further than I thought. I was now standing near one of the luxury booths, facing the spiral staircase that led to The Attic. Coming slowly down that staircase was Julian, very closely followed by a beaming Nat
alie. Julian was smiling widely, revealing his perfect set of teeth and further emphasising his brilliantly sculptured cheek bones. Natalie threw her head back as she laughed before stroking her perfectly manicured hand down Julian’s arm – literally from his shoulder right down to his wrist where her hand paused and looked as if it gave a gentle squeeze. Bitch! As I seethed, with anger spilling from my every pore, Julian’s head snapped up and his eyes locked with mine. His smile instantly turned to a frown and his eyes narrowed, questioningly. He turned to Natalie and spoke closely to her ear before turning to me again. Natalie placed a firm hand right across his bicep and appeared to squeeze again as her expression hardened.

  I was aware that Julian was crossing the dance floor towards me but I just stood there, frozen, unable to move.

  “Come on, Emily. Dance with me. Ignore him,” Samantha said in my ear.

  Samantha’s advice was usually the best advice to follow. I would ignore him. And not only would I ignore him but I would show him how it feels. I turned my back on Julian and joined the nearest and newest group on the dance floor. Three men and two women, I counted. One of the men, a tall, handsome looking man, approached me within a second, smiling as he put his hands on my small waist. I shuddered at his touch and tried hard to hide my grimace as I began to move. I despised the feeling of this man’s fingers gently digging into the soft flesh of my waist, it reminded me of times I wished to forget – hands I wished to forget.

  “What the fuck are you doing, Emily?” a harsh voice hissed in my ear as a strong hand grasped my upper arm and pulled me away from the man. Julian.

  “What is it to you?” I sneered back at him. “Take your hand off me, now!” A pained expression struck his face as his arm dropped to his side.

  “Emily, what are you doing?” he asked, still through tightly gritted teeth but slightly less menacing than the first time.

  I looked up to meet his glare as his eyes searched mine. Before I could reply, the man I had been dancing with before we were rudely interrupted appeared at my side, his arm circling around my waist. I shuddered again, visibly this time.

  “Fuck off!” Julian warned, his eyes glaring at the stranger beside me – and around me.

  “I’m sorry; I believe I was dancing with this young lady. Why don’t you find your own partner?” the stranger replied, his tone cocky and sure.

  Shit! My heart began to pound as the man’s grip on my waist tightened. My eyes squeezed together involuntarily as the air left my lungs. Julian’s hand lunged forward before I had even managed to fully open my eyes again. He grasped tightly around the man’s throat.

  “She is my fucking partner!” he hissed. “And right now your touch is making her cringe! Now remove your hand from my girlfriend’s waist before I do something you’ll regret!” The tight grip released instantly and the stranger quickly turned and walked away.

  “What the fuck is wrong with you?” Julian shouted.

  “I beg your pardon? What the fuck is wrong with you? You can’t just stomp in and warn men away from me, Julian! It’s my choice who I dance with, maybe I liked that guy!”

  “Oh come on, Emily, he was making you physically cringe and you know it! Why do you insist on putting yourself in danger like that?”

  “I wasn’t in any danger until I saw you, Julian.” I glared at him, feeling my eyes narrowing as I chewed on my cheek.

  “You shouldn’t be here, Emily. It’s not safe for you, we talked about this!”

  “Jay is miles away, the police tracked him, and whatever we talked about means absolute shit to me since you walked out on me.”

  “Emily, you don’t understand,” he calmed.

  “No, you’re damned fucking right I don’t understand!” I screamed at him.

  I could feel my cheeks reddening by the second, I was so angry. Samantha was right; I didn’t need to see Julian tonight but it was too late now. I glanced over to the bar and saw Natalie glaring at me. I’m pretty sure I have never seen so much hatred behind a single pair of eyes. “Go back to Natalie, Julian. She’s waiting for you!”

  “That’s what this is about? You think I was with Natalie?” His eyes widened as his mouth twitched with humour.

  “It doesn’t take a fucking scientist, does it?”

  “Well, clearly it does, Emily. You’re very wrong.”

  “Don’t stand there and lie to my face. You left me this morning then I come here and see you leaving The Attic with her! I suppose I fell for the bullshit of me being the only woman you’ve invited up there! She was all over you, Julian, and you didn’t appear to be complaining! Don’t tell me I’m wrong! You’ve only got to glance over and see the way she’s looking at me right now to see that I’m right!” I was ranting now. Shamelessly screeching at him in the middle of the dance floor in his club!

  “You are wrong. I have not been, nor will I ever be involved with Natalie. If you give me a minute I can explain.”

  “You don’t have to explain yourself to me, Julian; it’s no concern of mine. It’s your business who you decide to fuck!”

  With my last word, I noticed Julian’s head snap backwards slightly as if I had just slapped him.

  “Don’t use language like that towards me, Emily, it’s beneath you.”

  “You patronising bastard!” I felt a strong urge to either slap him, hard, or turn and leave as quickly as possible. I chose the latter.

  “Leave her alone, Julian!” I heard Samantha shout from behind me, the click of her heels rapidly growing closer to me.

  As the cold air struck my face, the effects of my alcohol consumption seemed to dawn on me all at once. My hand reached out to clutch onto the wall beside me to steady my swaying body. I looked down at the ground to check if the pavement was in fact swirling beneath my feet or if was actually my eyes. Before I could force my vision to focus on an unmoving object, I saw the ground coming towards my face at alarming speed. Of course, it wasn’t the ground that was moving upwards, it was my face moving rapidly downwards.

  Samantha caught my arm and pulled, stumbling herself as she tried desperately to steady me. Then those recognisable strong hands were on me, one either side of my waist before I was pulled into Julian’s tight embrace. The smell of his aftershave – or deodorant, or body spray, I had no idea which – struck my only remaining fully functional sense. He smelled incredible. So fresh, so alluring.

  “Come on, I’m taking you two home.” Julian’s stern words snapped me out of my reverie.

  “We can get home ourselves, thank you.” Samantha snapped, her tone clipped.

  “It doesn’t look to me like you can. It wasn’t a question, Samantha.”

  “Don’t take your shitty tone with me, Julian! You didn’t care too much about her this morning, did you?”

  Julian released his tight grasp on me but still held a single arm firmly around my waist as he pulled my body against his side. I could hear the present conversation and I knew I should speak for myself, but the truth was that my brain simply couldn’t form any sensible words. My head spun and their faces were distorted in my hazed vision as I tried to make sense of their heated exchange.

  “Trust me, Samantha, I care and I’m taking her home,” Julian spoke through his strained jaw.

  “Trust you? Hah, that’s a good one, the last time I did that I found my best friend crumpled in a corner of your flat in fucking pieces, so don’t tell me to trust you! She’s my friend, I am taking her home. Leave her alone!” I could just about make out Samantha’s widened eyes and flaming red cheeks as she shouted.

  “Not much of a fucking friend are you, letting her get into this state!” Julian hissed. I felt his fist clench against my side as his breathing quickened.

  “How dare you? Emily does whatever she wants to do! I am not her dictator! Besides, I think you can thank yourself for the state she’s in. You broke her heart, Julian, not me!”

  Samantha grabbed my arm and pulled me out of Julian’s embrace. I had expected Julian to fight it, but he didn�
��t. His arms simply dropped to his sides as he muttered something under his breath.

  As we walked away from him, or stumbled in my case, I glanced back and saw him staring back at me, his eyes pleading with mine, his expression revealing nothing but pure agony. I turned away as his head dropped and he closed his eyes, squeezing them together, tightly.

  Chapter Fourteen

  A loud thumping attacked my head as I peeled my eyes open. I squinted and closed my eyes again as the light seeped in. With a loud groan, I rolled over to face Maia who was sitting beside me, flicking through the pages of her book.

  “Good morning, beautiful.” I squeezed her leg ever so gently.

  “Morning, Mummy. Time to get up,” she replied, her angelic face lit up by her wide smile.

  I rolled over to retrieve my phone from the bedside table. 7:34a.m and three messages received. I felt the muscles in my stomach quench as I tapped on the message icon. All three were from Julian.

  ‘Emily, I’m sorry about tonight. Please give me a chance to explain over dinner tomorrow night. Julian x’

  ‘Emily, please?’

  ‘Shout at me. Scream at me but please don’t ignore me. Unless of course you are asleep, which I sincerely hope you are! I need to explain about Natalie. I won’t have you believe that I was with her tonight. So, dinner tomorrow?’

  My stomach clenched and twisted as I read his messages, intensifying my current nauseous state. He cared enough to send me three messages and invite me out for dinner to explain, that must count for something, right? I felt an almost painful stretching of my dry lips and realised quickly that I was smiling ridiculously at my phone screen. I quickly forced the smile away, trying to remember why I was supposed to be so angry with him. With a deep sigh, I pressed reply.

  ‘You don’t owe me an explanation. I had no right to interfere. I’m sorry. Goodbye, Julian. X’